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Fbbbdabx 12, 1920 



The Florists^ Review 



35 



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i*^ ORCHID HEARING ^ 



MAY MODIFY QUABANTINE 37. 



Orchid Growers Before Board. 



The Federal Horticultural Board gave 

 a three hours' hearing February 10 on 

 the subject of the importation of orchids 

 under Quarantine 37. At its conclusion 

 it was believed that the atmosphere was 

 somewhat cleared and groundwork had 

 been laid for the board to issue modifi- 

 cations of the quarantine at least to 

 permit growers to obtain reasonable 

 supplies of plants for propagating pur- 

 poses, or to issue a statement indicating 

 clearly the extent to which growers can 

 obtain plants. 



According to Dr. C.> L. Marlatt, who 

 presided, there is an impression in the 

 trade that the quarantine shuts off both 

 old and new varieties, and during the 

 course of the conference he made state- 

 ments the substance of which was as 

 follows: 



That new varieties as well as old can 

 be imported on application. 



That nothing is cut off that is really 

 needed. 



That only the purely commercial entry 

 for immediate sale has been cut off. 



That if growers find that other grow- 

 ers will not let them have certain va- 

 rieties or charge extortionate prices, 

 the board will issue permits to bring in 

 enough of these varieties to carry out 

 the methods of reproduction, supplies 

 to be liberal in order to allow for the 

 obtaining of satisfactory flowers. 



That if plants for reproduction pur- 

 poses were brought in under permit in 

 reasonable quantities, the board did not 

 care what was done with the flowers; 

 they could be sold or given away. 



That varieties to be permitted entry 

 do not have to be new, the test being 

 unavailability. 



Question of Production. 



In opening the hearing Dr. Marlatt 

 stated that the board has been assured 

 that the quarantine as it now stands has 

 proved satisfactory generally and that 

 it gives the orchid producers the pro- 

 tection that they long needed. He said 

 that it will be only a few years until 

 home-grown orchids satisfy all reason- 

 able needs in this country if they do 

 not exceed them, and that the question 

 now is whether the orchid business in 

 this country can take care of itself with 

 such importations as are permitted. 



John E. Lager, of Lager & Hurrell, 

 Summit, N. J., made an extended state- 

 ment against the quarantine and asked 

 that it be practically lifted, maintain- 

 ing that it had not been proved that 

 the orchid was a carrier of pests or dis- 

 eases that could not be guarded against. 



W. L. Jones, representing Thomas B. 

 Young, Jr., Boundbrook, N. J., detailed 

 the success in raising orchid hybrids 

 and seedlings at the Young nurseries 

 and maintained that this nursery could 

 supply 50,000 plants a year. 



Joseph A. Manda, of West Orange, 

 N. J., declared that importations were 

 necessary to keep up stocks and that if 

 hybrids are to be kept up we must have 

 the species. 



Luis F. Carrillo, of Mamaroneck, N. 



Y., declared that importsitions should 

 be freely permitted. He said that a few 

 growers had practically cornered propa- 

 gating stock and were holding it at high 

 prices. He said that he was asked $7 

 for plants which he could import if the 

 quarantine were off for $1. 



Not Tariff Matter. 



Frank E. Pierson, of Tarrytown, N. Y., 

 who made the closing statement, said 

 that to him it appeared that the whole 

 question before the board was whether 

 it was safe to import orchids. He said 

 that the Secretary of Agriculture had 

 decided in connection with quarantines 

 that the burden of proof was on the gov- 

 ernment, and he advised the board to 

 keep this in mind. He said that ar- 

 rangements could be made at ports of 

 entry to m^ke examinatisjis "^^ orchids 

 to see if they were infested. 



"I think we have been digressing," 

 he said. "We have been discussing 

 whether we can produce or cannot pro- 

 duce. This is not a tariff discussion. 

 Because you merely think that some in- 

 jurious insects may be introduced, you 

 have no power under the law, as it was 

 intended, to keep these plants out. Yo\i 



have never made a prima facie case 

 that orchids introduce specific diseases 

 or insects." 



Dr. Marlatt, in concluding the hear- 

 ing, said that he agreed with Mr. Pier- 

 son that the purpose of the board had 

 nothing to do with the commercial fea- 

 tures of the case, and in referring to 

 the suggestion made for a port inspec- 

 tion, he said that the board had recom- 

 mended such a system to Congress. 



In addition to those named above, 

 the following were present, several of 

 whom participated in the discussion: 

 J. D. Eisele, president of Henry A. Dreer, 

 Inc., Philadelphia; George E. Baldwin, 

 Mamaroneck, N. Y.; Edouard Eoehrs, 

 Rutherford, N. J.; J. K. M. L. Farquhar, 

 Boston; W. J, Vesey, Fort Wayne, Ind.; 

 Alphonse Pericat, CoUingdale, Pa., and 

 G. B. Alberts, Louisville, Ky. 



T. O. M. 



Youngstown, O. — John Walker has 

 recently bought a tract of fourteen 

 acres, part of the Price farm, west of 

 Hubbard, and will erect on it a range 

 to cost about $30,000. He sold his Logan 

 avenue greenhouses and six acres of 

 land to the Youngstown Ice Co. 



Blchmond, Ind.— Joseph H. Hill Co. 

 has placed a contract with the Lord & 

 Burnham Co., through the Chicago ofiSce, 

 for another iron-frame greenhouse, 

 80x400, to be erected at once. It is to 

 parallel on the north the first L. & B. 

 house, 60x400, separated from it by 

 sufficient space to avoid shade. 



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THE TRADE'S SHARE 



HOW MONEY IS SPENT. 



Agricultural Appropriation Bill. 



The agricultural appropriation bill for 

 the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1920, 

 reported to the House of Representa- 

 tives by the committee on appropria- 

 tions, consideration of which was begun 

 February 5, contains several appropria- 

 tions of interest to florists. One is an 

 appropriation of $54,750 to develop a 

 port inspection service in the enforce- 

 ment of quarantines established under 

 the provisions of the plant quarantine 

 act. In this connection the commit- 

 tee's report states: "The department 

 is now enforcing fourteen quarantines 

 prohibiting or restricting the entry of 

 foreign plants, fruits and plant products. 

 It is also enforcing seven others regu- 

 lating and restricting the entry of addi- 

 tional foreign products. These quaran- 

 tines and orders are being enforced in 

 cooperation with the customs service, 

 but the burden on that service has 

 grown to such an extent that it havS 

 been necessary for the Department of 

 Agriculture to take over the actual en- 

 forcement of these quarantines at the 

 principal ports of entry, as far as possi- 

 ble, through the service now maintained 

 to prevent the entry into the United 

 States of the pink bollworm of cotton 

 through importation from Egypt, Mex- 

 ico and other foreign countries. Cali- 

 fornia and Florida are the only states 

 which have established adequate port 

 inspection services." The full appro- 

 priation under this heading is $100,450. 



$70,000 for Japanese Beetle. 



Under the heading "Deciduous Fruit 

 Insect Investigation," the committee 

 stated: "There is an apparent increase 

 in this item of $72,720, but, as $2,280 

 has been transferred to statutory rolls, 

 the actual increase is $75,000. This 

 additional amount will be used for ex- 

 tending the work in the control of the 

 Japanese beetle. The allotment for this 

 work under the present appropriation is 

 $25,000, which, with $30,000 to be made 

 immediately available, provides a total 

 of $55,000 for this purpose during the 

 fiscal year 1920. The remaining $45,000 

 of the increase, together with $25,000 

 allotted for the control of the Japan- 

 ese beetle from the present appropria- 

 tion, will make $70,000 available for 

 combating this post during the next fis- 

 cal year. ' ' 



Seed Reports Cost Less. 



The item, ' ' Market News Service, ' ' 

 represents a combination of the items 

 for market news service on (1) fruits 

 and vegetables, (2) peanuts, (3) dairy 

 and poultry products, and (4) grain, 

 hay, feeds and seeds, aggregating $392,- 

 600 for the current year. The apparent 

 decrease is $78,000, but as $25,620 has 

 been transferred to the statutory roll, 

 there is an actual decrease of $52,380. 

 The full appropriation under this head- 

 ing is $314,600. 



The bill is scheduled to pass the 

 House during the latter part of the 

 week ending February 14, and after 

 passage by the House it goes to the 

 Senate for consideration. T. O. M. 



